6GX5

Narrow Pick Filament from Pick's disease brain


Experimental Data Snapshot

  • Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
  • Resolution: 3.20 Å
  • Aggregation State: TISSUE 
  • Reconstruction Method: HELICAL 

wwPDB Validation   3D Report Full Report


This is version 1.4 of the entry. See complete history


Literature

Structures of filaments from Pick's disease reveal a novel tau protein fold.

Falcon, B.Zhang, W.Murzin, A.G.Murshudov, G.Garringer, H.J.Vidal, R.Crowther, R.A.Ghetti, B.Scheres, S.H.W.Goedert, M.

(2018) Nature 561: 137-140

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0454-y
  • Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
    6GX5

  • PubMed Abstract: 

    The ordered assembly of tau protein into abnormal filamentous inclusions underlies many human neurodegenerative diseases 1 . Tau assemblies seem to spread through specific neural networks in each disease 2 , with short filaments having the greatest seeding activity 3 . The abundance of tau inclusions strongly correlates with disease symptoms 4 . Six tau isoforms are expressed in the normal adult human brain-three isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats each (4R tau) and three isoforms that lack the second repeat (3R tau) 1 . In various diseases, tau filaments can be composed of either 3R or 4R tau, or of both. Tau filaments have distinct cellular and neuroanatomical distributions 5 , with morphological and biochemical differences suggesting that they may be able to adopt disease-specific molecular conformations 6,7 . Such conformers may give rise to different neuropathological phenotypes 8,9 , reminiscent of prion strains 10 . However, the underlying structures are not known. Using electron cryo-microscopy, we recently reported the structures of tau filaments from patients with Alzheimer's disease, which contain both 3R and 4R tau 11 . Here we determine the structures of tau filaments from patients with Pick's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by frontotemporal dementia. The filaments consist of residues Lys254-Phe378 of 3R tau, which are folded differently from the tau filaments in Alzheimer's disease, establishing the existence of conformers of assembled tau. The observed tau fold in the filaments of patients with Pick's disease explains the selective incorporation of 3R tau in Pick bodies, and the differences in phosphorylation relative to the tau filaments of Alzheimer's disease. Our findings show how tau can adopt distinct folds in the human brain in different diseases, an essential step for understanding the formation and propagation of molecular conformers.


  • Organizational Affiliation

    MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.


Macromolecules
Find similar proteins by:  (by identity cutoff)  |  3D Structure
Entity ID: 1
MoleculeChains Sequence LengthOrganismDetailsImage
Microtubule-associated protein tau
A, B, C
94Homo sapiensMutation(s): 0 
UniProt & NIH Common Fund Data Resources
Find proteins for P10636 (Homo sapiens)
Explore P10636 
Go to UniProtKB:  P10636
PHAROS:  P10636
GTEx:  ENSG00000186868 
Entity Groups  
Sequence Clusters30% Identity50% Identity70% Identity90% Identity95% Identity100% Identity
UniProt GroupP10636
Sequence Annotations
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  • Reference Sequence
Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

  • Method: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
  • Resolution: 3.20 Å
  • Aggregation State: TISSUE 
  • Reconstruction Method: HELICAL 
EM Software:
TaskSoftware PackageVersion
RECONSTRUCTIONRELION2.1
MODEL REFINEMENTREFMAC5.7.0032

Structure Validation

View Full Validation Report



Entry History & Funding Information

Deposition Data


Funding OrganizationLocationGrant Number
Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)United KingdomMC_U105184291
Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)United KingdomMC_UP_A025_1013
Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)United KingdomMC_UP_A025_1012
National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA)United StatesP30-AG010133
European UnionUnited KingdomJoint Programme-Neurodegeneration Research
European UnionUnited KingdomHorizon 2020 IMPRiND

Revision History  (Full details and data files)

  • Version 1.0: 2018-09-12
    Type: Initial release
  • Version 1.1: 2018-09-19
    Changes: Data collection, Database references
  • Version 1.2: 2019-12-18
    Changes: Other
  • Version 1.3: 2022-03-30
    Changes: Author supporting evidence, Database references
  • Version 1.4: 2024-07-10
    Changes: Data collection